Give Mattison Some Time, People...

[808 Raven]

Thanks Hokie. Good stuff. I agree with pretty much everything you said. We do have to give Mattison some time for the whole learning curve. My frustration is not that he's trying to change the defensive scheme, but more the timing of the change. In my opinion (and I'm sure people will disagree), for most NFL teams there's a window of maybe 3-5 years where all the pieces are in place to make a legitimate SB run. There are exceptions like NE, Indy, and as much as it pains me, the Stoolers who most people would argue are SB contenders year in and year out. After that, players leave in FA, father time catches up with them, and coaches/coordinators are fired or leave for other positions. We can build through the draft, but most people can't step in and be an impact player from day 1.

With the offense scoring like how it is, I just wish Mattison let the D do what the do best. Rush the QB, stop the run, and letting the vets play off their instincts. That's what they're good at and it's Mattison's job to scheme the D based on his player's strengths. You can't argue with Mattison's college credentials, but this is the NFL. His "bend don't break" ideas might not work at this level. You can't let the opposing QB stand around in the pocket and take his time because we don't have a pass rush. I do hope Mattison succeeds and the D gets back on track, but if they continue to stumble, I hope Mattison will be able to swallow his pride, see the players he has are better suited for an aggressive D approach, and change his defensive stance just a little.

[duffybr]

Screw Mattison. This is the worst Ravens defense since 1996. He should be fired.

OOPS. Dead wrong there. Maybe Mattison learned some things over the 1st 6 games and was able to implement them with extra time over the bye week.

We are a minute from 7-0 and our defensive problems are failures of execution by the players, especially versus Cincinatti. Don't forget us losing due to penalty calls at crucial times.

Give Mattison a little time and some defensive spirit like we had toady nad we will love him.

[RavenScallywag]

I like our post bye-week Defense...it's still not perfect, and we've got much tougher offenses coming up, but definitley a better showing, looked like we did more in deceptive pressure and bringing other rushers than our front 4.

Glad we didn't fire Mattison in the bye week.

[Sephy]

I have not been a Mattison fan all year, and I will reserve judgement for another week or two, but he really dialed up a perfect gameplan today. Now, Denver is the perfect team to go up against our D matchup wise, with Orton's weak deep arm and no real great cutback runner. However, the beat down today was very impressive, with consistent pressure, and very tight coverage from both the starting corners this week. The Ravens were ready for the short crossing routes and screens, both RB and WR. They just looked very prepared. And imagine how bad it woulda been had Suggs and JJ not dropped their pick 6s. Wow.

Do it against Cincy next week, and I'll really believe. That will test the mettle of these guys.

[baltimore_hokie]

But their offensive line is one of the best in the league, let alone what we will face this year. I was very impressed with the pressure we got pretty consistently against a very good OL, something that we hadn't done all season against inferior units. I think Mattison committed to sending more guys, and it seemed to work out.